The Dresden Descendant's Project

I started this project many years ago trying to find my great-great-grandfather and, without realizing, suddenly I ended up with the story of this immigrants over my shoulders (as I feel), with a lot of information, with a lot of contacts of descendants, with many names and places, heroes and victims, statistics and details that I never thought I could find.

This project wants to register the testimonies of the descendants of the SS Dresden, the steamship that brought the largest batch of Irish immigrants ever come to Argentina, making them the main actors of the story. They will tell us how their relatives come to the country and how they get till these days. From there, with their testimonies and memories, we’ll bring back to life those old images from the past.

So, why not to get in touch with all this people and generate them the space necessary where they all can built together the story of their descendants of the Dresden, leaving something to the next generation coming. And that is the challenge, that instead of finishing with him, it’s just beginning.

Thomas Murray said in his History of the Irish in Argentina: 'Whether you be young or old, man or woman, if you know anything worth while, bearing on the Irish in Argentina, set to and write it off to some paper - get it into print, and you have done something - you have laid your stone on the cairn of the race'. I change him the paper for the video. I hope he don’t mind.

I want to thanks very much to SILAS (Society for Irish Latin American Studies) for giving me the space for making my dream come true: making this documentary. So, here are my words of thanks for them.

Kind regards and many thanks for giving me this opportunity.

Sincerely,

Juan Pablo Alvarez

Proyecto "Los descendientes del Dresden"

Comencé este proyecto varios años atrás tratando de encontrar a mi tatarabuelo y de pronto, casi sin darme cuenta, terminé con la historia de estos inmigrantes sobre los hombros (como lo siento), con muchísima información, con varios contactos de descendientes, con varios nombres y lugres, héroes y victimas, estadísticas y detalles. Nunca lo hubiera imaginado.

Este proyecto pretende registrar los testimonios de los descendientes del SS Dresden, el vapor que trajo a la Argentina el mayor contingente de irlandeses, haciendo de ellos, los actores principales de esta historia. Nos contarán cómo sus antepasados vinieron al país y como sus familias llegaron hasta nuestros días. Y desde allí, de esos testimonios y anécdotas, construiremos esas viejas imágenes del pasado.

Por qué no ponerse en contacto con todas estas personas y convocarlas a fin de obtener y reconstruir, entre todos, la historia de los descendientes del Dresden, dejándoles algo a las generaciones venideras. Y ese es el desafío, que por cierto no termina en este documental sino que, a con él, empieza.

Thomas Murray dijo en su “Historia de los Irlandeses en Argentina” allá por 1919: 'Whether you be young or old, man or woman, if you know anything worth while, bearing on the Irish in Argentina, set to and write it off to some paper - get it into print, and you have done something - you have laid your stone on the cairn of the race' (Thomas Murray 1919: 479). Le cambié el papel por el video. Espero no se ofenda.

Hoy SILAS (Society for Irish Latin American Studies) me da el espacio para que pueda cumplir mi sueño de años: hacer este documental. Vayan pues mis palabras de agradecimiento para con ellos.

Saludos y muchas gracias por darme una oportunidad.

Cordialmente,

Juan Pablo Alvarez